{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://connolly.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1209", "A government shutdown could halt military death benefits again", "2017-12-05", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Gerald Connolly", "C001078", "connolly.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Claudia Grisales\r\n  \r\nAs the threat of a federal government shutdown rises, Gold Star families could be among those who pay the price.During a shutdown, a death benefit program for servicemembers that includes an immediate $100,000 payment to each military family could come to a halt. Other payments also could stop in a shutdown: funds that cover funeral, burial and related travel expenses as well as a temporary housing allowance in cases involving active-duty servicemembers. It happened four years ago. A government shutdown stopped payments for the families. In October 2013, the families of four soldiers who were killed in combat in Afghanistan didn\u2019t see the death benefits for days, forcing them to alter plans to meet the bodies of their slain relatives at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Such incidents triggered an angry backlash from the military and their supporters as well as congressional promises to rectify the concern. But there\u2019s been no legislation since to fix it, and as a result, supporters of Gold Star families are worried about a repeat of such ordeals. \u201cHaving been in the middle of this during the last shutdown, it\u2019s another way we keep slapping these people in the face,\u201d said Ken Fisher, chairman and CEO of his family\u2019s nonprofit, the Fisher House Foundation. \u201cThese death benefits and gratuities should be safeguarded during political squabbles and disagreements. Haven\u2019t these families been through enough?\u201d During the 16-day shutdown of 2013, an estimated 30 families lost relatives serving in the military and were impacted by the gap in coverage. Since that time, legislation to make the payments permanent and immune to Capitol Hill funding fights has failed to gain much traction. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., has sponsored the legislation, the Families of Fallen Servicemembers First Act, during every congressional term since the 2013 shutdown, but bill has languished in the committee stage. Each year, however, the plan has grown in support, going from 8 cosponsors in 2013 to 108 this year. \u201cWhat happened during the 2013 shutdown was shameful and must never happen again,\u201d Connolly said in a statement. \u201cWe must never again fail to uphold our sacred compact with grieving military families. With the near quarterly threats of a government shutdown, enacting the Families of Fallen Servicemembers First Act is more important than ever.\u201d One challenge potentially hurting the bill\u2019s success could be a cost estimate. In 2013, the Congressional Budget Office, which evaluates and estimates the cost of legislation, gave a similar plan a $150 million price tag. Supporters of a permanent fix have said the estimate is too high, and seems to assume the government would remain in shutdown mode in perpetuity, said Keith Humphrey of Kansas, a Navy veteran and father-in-law to a fallen Marine Corps servicemember. Humphrey\u2019s family received their benefit immediately, but he was angered when he heard of the 2013 cases and it inspired him to get involved. Humphrey has made it his life mission to rectify the gap in coverage. He said he has sent out thousands of emails since 2013 to state and federal lawmakers, among others, pushing for the legislation. While the shutdown doesn\u2019t impact insurance-related death payments \u2013 such as ones from the Servicemember\u2019s Group Life Insurance program \u2013 those funds can take weeks to reach families, Humphrey said, making a timely death benefit crucial. \u201cWhat crushed me during the shutdown was knowing those families weren\u2019t getting money,\u201d said Humphrey, who twice ran unsuccessfully for the Kansas state senate. \u201cSome had to wait to bury their kid.\u201d In November 2009, Humphrey lost his son-in-law, Marine Corps Sgt. Michael Martins, who was killed in a motorcycle crash near his base at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. Within two days, Humphrey\u2019s daughter received the $100,000 payment, which helped ease some of the initial panic of planning her husband\u2019s funeral, among other demands. She was also able to use the money to fly Martins\u2019 friends from his unit to the funeral. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a lot of things you\u2019ve got to do quick,\u201d Humphrey said. \u201cYour breadwinner is gone. The last thing you want to do is worry how you are going to pay for stuff.\u201d In Kansas, Humphrey saw quick success, where the state in 2013 enacted a law to cover such benefits when the federal government can\u2019t during a shutdown. He\u2019s since pushed for the federal government to follow suit. This year, Humphrey has helped Connolly\u2019s legislation reach 108 cosponsors \u2013 about one-quarter of the House. \u201cI don\u2019t want to give up. I\u2019m still pushing to make something happen, to make a change,\u201d said Humphrey, who still wears a copy of Martins\u2019 dog tags. \u201cAfter Mike died, I wanted to turn it into some positive effect. It was a life-changing event. I have to find a way to reverse the grief.\u201d More than halfway through the October 2013 shutdown, the Pentagon had struck a deal with Fisher House to provide the benefits to families of the fallen as a contractor. \u201cI am offended, outraged, and embarrassed that the government shutdown had prevented the Department of Defense from fulfilling this most sacred responsibility in a timely manner,\u201d Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement at the time. \u201cIn the days before the shutdown, we warned Congress and the American people that DOD would not have the legal authority to make these payments during a lapse in appropriations.\u201d In the end, the Fisher House issued payments of $25,000 to about 30 Gold Star families who lost members of the military in combat, training or other incidents during the shutdown, Fisher said. The nonprofit, which provides temporary housing all over the world for military families in need, such as people with a servicemember who is hospitalized, raised a large portion of that money privately. \u201cWe have to learn from our mistakes. Too often history repeats itself and we need to make sure that is not the case,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about making sure the death benefits are paid, it\u2019s honoring the sacrifices these people have made.\u201d  \r\n\r\nhttps://www.stripes.com/news/a-government-shutdown-could-halt-military-death-benefits-again-1.500926", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://connolly.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1209"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3170200400054455, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}